It's amazing how life kind of works its own kinks out. After we left Indiana, my dad, mom, me and the kids headed to North Dakota. It was about Beloit, WI when we ran into car problems. A strange rattle we heard in Indiana turned out to be a big clunk in Wisconsin. If you have ever tried to find a mechanic on a holiday (Sunday and the Fourth of July) in the middle of nowhere - you'll understand the mild stress and tension hovering over us. We were stuck there for a couple of days, but it turned out to be one of the best parts of our vacation.

We found a hotel with a pool, the town had a beautiful park, and grandpa couldn't sneak away to go to work while we were stuck. The kids were great, we just played and had fun, and eventually we made it to our destination.

The rest of our trip was smooth. We got up to Minot and spent a few days with the great grandmas. It was fun to see them and spend time with my cousins' kids, whatever that relation is. The pictures above were taken at my Grandma Elaine's house. The trees they're climbing were the ones we climbed as kids. My grandpa would chase us down so no one would get hurt. Now that he's gone, the torch has been passed to my generation as we were all out back telling the kids to get down and be careful. The circle of life I guess.

(the next couple of entries will continue to be a vacation log. more for my purposes than yours. Remember-patience is a virtue.)